Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 314 Li Er: You, Li Ming, are still better!

In the next few days, His Majesty Li Shimin completely ignored military and political affairs and just lay on his couch all day long and slept soundly.

Just like the successful candidates in the imperial examination who let themselves go after the exam.

The most difficult step has been completed, and the Ming army has been successfully driven into the encirclement. He no longer needs to worry about the rest of the work.

The endgame was very boring. It was nothing more than driving the Ming army into the Si River step by step.

So Li Shimin, who was very excited at the beginning, immediately felt bored and left all the hard work and dirty words of cleaning up the mess to Li Shiji and others.

As for himself, to put it nicely, he was conserving his energy and storing up energy for the next big battle.

To put it bluntly, it's just slacking off. The only time I open my eyes is to eat, and the time I close my eyes is to sleep.

The daily routine of an elderly person who has suffered a stroke is like this, just like a naughty child, returning to nature -

Apart from the topics that interest him, namely the brain-burning grand strategies, he ignores all other boring things that can foresee the future.

And this "predictable" and "boring" thing is just a small matter that follows the routine.

More than 200,000 complete Ming troops were wiped out on the beach of Si Shui.

"hiss……"

Generals such as Li Shiji and Cheng Zhijie all felt daunted by this task.

It was boringly simple for His Majesty, but a bit tricky for those who were responsible for carrying it out.

"We should attack with all our strength!" Li Shiji thought.

"We should do it step by step!" Cheng Zhijie insisted.

In the end, it was Li Shiji, in his capacity as Grand Chancellor, who overwhelmed all opponents and decided on a full-scale attack.

However, Li Shiji was not a stubborn person. He also absorbed the strengths of the opinions of Cheng Zhijie and others.

They first harassed the Ming army's weak points such as logistics, and then launched several tentative attacks on the edge of its defense line.

The results were very satisfying.

The Ming army was like a big fish that was hooked ashore. Although it jumped when poked, the strength of its jumps became weaker and weaker each time, and it was about to die.

"The night is long and dreams are many. I have decided to launch a general attack on the enemy tomorrow. Who is in favor and who is against?"

Before the battle, Li Shiji consulted with other generals for the last time.

This time, no one raised any objections.

Everyone felt that they should accomplish their goal in one fell swoop.

After unifying their thoughts, Li Shiji finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked up respectfully:
"Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Li Shimin opened half of his eyes with lack of interest and waved his hand casually.

"I have paved the way for you to this extent, how come we haven't completely defeated them yet?

"You don't need to ask me for permission for such a small matter. You can handle it on your own. After you have wiped them all out, come back and inform me."

This clearly shows that they do not regard the other side as an enemy.

Li Shiji, Cheng Yaojin, Guo Xiaoke and others looked at each other.

It seems that His Majesty is waiting for the good news of the complete annihilation of the enemy, and is getting a little impatient.

What else is there to say at this point?

"I will obey your order."

Everyone accepted the order and retreated together.

We will just wait until tomorrow morning to launch the final wave of the general offensive and completely wipe out the enemy's 200,000 troops, which will put a relatively satisfactory end to this tortuous battle.

…………

When the generals left the tent one after another, Li Shimin immediately opened his eyes and sighed with some disgust:

"Alas... each of those generals is even more indecisive than Emperor Gaozu. Especially Cheng Zhijie.

"After more than a decade of peaceful life, have their senses become dulled?

"Only Li Shiji looks a bit like a soldier. But he has too much psychological burden from fighting, so he is a bit hesitant and his movements are distorted."

The war to annihilate the Ming army had been dragged on until today, and Li Shimin was getting a little impatient.

No matter how hard the other side fights, humans are made of iron and rice is made of steel.

Having lost their supplies and being surrounded on all sides, what combat effectiveness did the Ming army have?

What's more, the military strength is 500,000 to 200,000, the advantage is on me!
How can you lose with an army of 500,000 men on your face?
"If I were a few years younger... No, if I didn't have this damn disease, this battle would have been over long ago, and I would have thrown that old guy Li Jing into the sea long ago!"

General Tian Ce talked about his youthful passion and lamented that "each generation is inferior to the previous one".

"Never mind, it's always a good thing that it ended smoothly in the end."

After complaining for a long time, he finally calmed down.

The corner of the left half of his mouth that was not paralyzed curled up, revealing an innocent smile.

"Fortunately, Li Jing is also old and is no match for me. I even had a stroke, hahaha~
"Was I a little too wary of him before? With the abilities he has shown, it's really not worthy of me targeting him like this..."

Li Shimin laughed and couldn't help but sighed sadly:

"Alas, our generation is getting old..."

He clumsily picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote the imperial edict crookedly with his left hand.

"After defeating the Ming army this time, do not embarrass the captives. Disband the soldiers on the spot.

"Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang are promising talents. We should not let their talents go to waste. They can be recruited into our army.

"Hou Junji, Li Daozon and Xue Wanche are three fools who can't even stand. They should stay in jail for a month to sober up. Our next move will depend on their performance.

"As for Li Jing...he is already quite old, so let him spend his old age in peace."

As he wrote, the smile on Li Shimin's face grew wider.

"Li Ming, Li Ming, your grandfather is more skilled than you, right?

"Although you are a little clever, you can make some achievements in politics and economics.

"But on the battlefield, you are still far inferior to your grandfather. As long as I personally take action, the so-called 'Red Scarf Army' you have assembled will be exposed, haha~"

If we can't win on the battlefield, everything is zero.

Li Mingzhi indeed had his own unique way of governing the country. He was able to start from scratch and build the barren land of Liaodong into a regime of the size of "Ming Dynasty", and he could even compete with the Tang Dynasty.

If he were placed in another dynasty, he would definitely be the founding emperor.

"What a pity, it's me he ran into. In terms of combat ability, he still lacks some experience and can't compare to his father.

"He couldn't beat me in battle, that's why he lost."

As an emperor, and the founding emperor at that, Li Shimin had a very competitive personality.

If he had a more Buddhist personality and was not competitive, he would not have been able to climb to his current position and achieve the success he has today.

So for him, he was happy from the bottom of his heart to be able to defeat Li Ming who tried to challenge his ability and authority.

It is the purest and most instinctive joy that a student feels when he or she gets first place in the class.

How could there be a more powerful monarch than me in the world? Even my eldest son can't do that. I must be the best in the world!

Now the war situation is very clear.

Li Shimin was indisputably superior to Li Ming.

Because unlike the so-called "500,000" troops on the Tang side, the more than 200,000 Ming troops in the dumpling fillings on the banks of the Sishui River were real combat soldiers.

A considerable number of them are elite field troops whose training costs are explosively high.

If the dumpling filling can be completely digested, Daming doesn't need to continue playing and can just type gg and take his hands off the keyboard.

Because Li Ming is bound to lose.

This is a shortfall of 200,000 troops.

No matter how strong Li Ming's internal affairs ability was, he could not turn the situation around. The huge disadvantage on the battlefield could not be made up for all at once.

You can raise an army for a thousand days, but lose it all in a moment.

It is obvious that the Tang Dynasty would not give the opponent the opportunity to slowly develop and lick its wounds.

“After this battle is over, we must not slack off but must continue to work hard.

"Cross the Yellow River and march north to Hebei, Liaodong, and Goguryeo!"

Although Li Shimin was lazy about the details of tactical battles, he would never slack off on the grand strategy.

He would not leave Li Ming any chance to turn the tables.

We must seize this advantage that we have worked so hard to gain on the battlefield and defeat the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop!

After all, the opponent is Li Ming. If you relax a little, let the indestructible cockroach catch his breath.

Who knows what will happen.

Being ruthless, eradicating the roots, and making every possible effort to ensure that not a single flaw could be found, this was the highest courtesy Li Shimin showed to his enemies.

"Is the battle for the throne over?"

Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh.

"It's a pity that Li Ming should have been the most suitable person to lead the world. He was just born into the wrong womb. This is also the misfortune of the people in the world...

"Well, he lost the battle himself, so he can't blame anyone else.

"I'll help Li Chengqian and Li Zhi in the future. I just don't know if Li Zhi will let him go after I die a hundred years later..."

Li Shimin looked up at the sky in confusion, then quickly retracted his gaze.

"My children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. What happens a hundred years later is all I can manage. It's not my turn to worry about it."

He quickly put aside his sentimental thoughts, gathered his mind, and concentrated on thinking about his next course of action.

Since his stroke, he has become more open-minded and no longer falls into mental exhaustion.

He didn't have the ability to take care of the "trivial details" such as what the future of Li Ming, the Li Tang royal family, and the entire Tang Dynasty would be like.

All he could do was to grasp the general direction and thoroughly establish the system of primogeniture before he passed away.

Let the "Tang Dynasty", a dynasty that was born with the "coup d'état" gene, get back on the right track in the future, repair the defects of the inheritance system, and avoid bloody storms every time the emperor is changed.

To achieve this goal, he still needs one more step -

"Completely wipe out Li Ming's army and defeat Li Ming completely.

"The people of the world may lose a potentially good emperor, but what they gain is long-term stability for the entire dynasty."

Li Shimin murmured.

Li Shimin felt that he knew clearly which was more important, an emperor or an entire dynasty.

His brain, which was a little rusty due to illness, was still working rapidly.

How should we march northwards in the future? How can we destroy Li Ming's old nest before he recovers? Should the policy be continued or put right? How should we govern the newly incorporated people? How should we settle the surrendered generals and soldiers?

One after another, a series of confusing questions flashed through his mind...

Just then, the messenger rushed in in a panic.

"Your Majesty... Report to Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin's eyes lazily swept over the unromantic soldier, and a hint of severity flashed in his turbid eyes.

His voice was low:

"What happened?"

You interrupted my thoughts, I hope something happened.

"Your Majesty, something has happened!" The messenger swallowed hard.

"The rebels...ran away!"

…………

"Ran?"

When Li Shimin first heard this news which was like thunder in a clear sky, he repeated it foolishly with a look of astonishment on his face.

After a while, he came back to his senses a little, but not much.

"What do you mean by ran away? Who ran away? How many people ran away? What are Li Shiji and the others doing? Do they know about this? Did they launch an attack in advance?"

A series of questions, like popping beans.

The herald replied tremblingly:
"No...don't know..."

"What do you mean I don't know?" Even though Li Shimin, who has become more and more Buddhist recently, couldn't help but be furious at this answer:
"Are you sick or am I sick? Tell me what happened, or I will punish you by military law!"

The emperor was so angry that the messenger was frightened and trembled like a sieve. He said incoherently:

"My army...our troops remained inactive and did not attack the rebel positions.

"But I don't know what happened. The rebels on the west bank of Surabaya are shrinking their positions, and their numbers seem to be decreasing..."

"What do you mean by less and less? What exactly happened?" Li Shimin interrupted impatiently.

"It's...it's too dark. I...I really can't see clearly." The messenger became more and more incoherent:

"That is... the number of Ming troops on the banks of the Sishui River is decreasing rapidly..."

"absurd!"

Li Shimin angrily spat out two words, and the messenger was so frightened that he immediately fell silent.

This is really ridiculous. Our army has not launched an attack yet, so how could the enemy's strength decrease for no reason?

Even if there were large-scale deserters on the other side, this could not be explained.

Because they are still trapped in the encirclement!
Even if you're a deserter, you have to escape to somewhere, right?

They wouldn't be so panicked that they all dived into the Si Shui River, right?
Could it be that the Ming army could still fly?
"Hiss...Hu~" Li Shimin took a deep breath, tried his best to control his emotions, and kindly asked the soldier who was a little timid but still dedicated to his duty.

"Do Li Shiji and the others know about this? How do they react?"

The messenger's attitude calmed down a bit:
"Your Majesty, the chief steward knows nothing about this matter. They are discussing countermeasures..."

"What countermeasures are you still discussing?"

Li Shimin was so angry that he stood up quickly, but because the right half of his body was unstable, he almost lost his balance.

"Your Majesty the Emperor!"

The attendants were all panicked and rushed to help.

"Don't worry about me!" Li Shimin angrily threw away the arm that was supporting him and shouted anxiously:
"Don't worry about what magic the other side used to escape the encirclement. Launch a full-scale attack and leave as many of them as possible!"

"Yes!"

The messenger immediately ran out of the tent and conveyed the order of His Majesty the Emperor to the anxious generals.

After a while, another messenger came.

"Report to Your Majesty! The rebels launched a surprise attack on our army!"

Li Shimin's left eyelid twitched.

"They, are they attacking us?"

It's simply the opposite of Tian Gang!
"Ignore those harassing troops, go to the river and attack the enemy camp first!" Li Shimin tried to grasp the main contradiction.

However, the message of the message made him feel depressed:
"Your Majesty, the enemy is coming with great force this time and has occupied the exit of the camp. Our army was caught off guard and is temporarily suppressed, making it difficult to leave the camp!"

Li Shimin's face turned sour.

He knew clearly that things like “500,000 versus 200,000, the advantage is on me” were just bluffing.

In terms of truly combat-capable troops, both sides are actually similar in terms of quantity and quality.

The Ming army launched a shameless sneak attack and gained the upper hand, so it was indeed difficult for the Tang army to do anything.

Li Shimin quickly came to his senses and said thoughtfully:

"That enemy... was it sent by Li Jing to cover the retreat of the main force?
"Have they really found a way out of the encirclement?"

Just as he was thinking, the third messenger came to report.

"Your Majesty! Urgent news from Chang'an!"

"I'm busy, let's talk later!" Li Shimin said unhappily.

However, the messenger was very stubborn and insisted on reporting:

"Your Majesty, this is a personal letter from the Emperor. It's an urgent message!"

"Li Chengqian? Tsk!" Li Shimin smacked his lips irritably:
"This is the most chaotic time, why is he joining in the fun?"

But even though he complained, he still took the handwritten letter from his eldest son that was delivered to him by the messenger.

The letter was not long. Li Shimin skilfully skipped the polite words and saw at a glance what the emperor's son wanted to express.

"The natives of Jiaozhou rebelled?"

He was in a trance for a moment, and an exaggerated smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Li Ming...did you do this?

"You did a great job, you are still better!"

(End of this chapter)